


Stay

by Shaz27



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Car Accidents, Coma, Established Relationship, M/M, Nightmares, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-26 02:46:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17737541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaz27/pseuds/Shaz27
Summary: Louis was taken to hospital after a car accident. They called Harry letting him know that his fiance was unconscious and in a serious condition. The only problem was, Harry hadn't seen Louis since he walked out of their flat three years earlier.





	1. Chapter 1

Even though it had only been a few weeks since winter ended it was one of those glorious spring days where the sun was shining bright, the sky finally clear of the grey cloud that had been hanging over the city for the better part of three months. Louis flicked his eyes up to the stunning blue and sighed. He had been stuck in his car for too long now, travelling back to London after visiting his family in Doncaster for the weekend when all he really wanted to do was lie in the grass, close his eyes and enjoy the sunshine. Instead, he wound down his car windows allowing the warm air to flood in and breathed deeply. That was better than nothing he supposed. Louis leaned his elbow on the car door, controlling the steering wheel with just the fingers of his right hand. His left hung loosely in this lap. Not so long ago, that left hand would have been firmly tucked into Harry’s right hand or sitting over his thigh, but not anymore. Those days were gone and Louis had finally accepted that Harry was not coming back.  
  
Louis and Harry had one of those all-consuming relationships that burned like a supernova. They met in High School and instantly became inseparable, where there was Louis there was Harry. It was almost a fairy tale romance where they didn’t really have to try, it just was. They never argued, it was like whatever one wanted the other wanted too. They were so close that it was hard to see them as two separate people, they were LouisandHarry, not Louis and Harry and they were everything to each other. Other couples at the school came and went, with the pair watching the fights, tears and drama with amusement, but Louis and Harry were a constant, never faltering in their love for each other.  
  
Straight after High School they moved in together and got engaged, Louis dropping down on one knee and presenting Harry with a silver ring with peace engraved into it. It was very Harry and Harry loved it. Things were great for a while, but eventually the pressures of adult life started pushing in on them. The arguments started about money and bills and cleaning the toilet and supermarket shopping and dishes and picking up the dirty clothes and a million other stupid things. Suddenly their relationship was no longer all sunshine and rainbows and they needed to work on it, but neither really knew how. Their relationship ended up being nothing but criticism, arguments and silent treatment, and a whole lot of pain. Neither of them were adult enough to take the first difficult step in mending the chasm that was forming, each blaming the other for their problems. That mixed with a healthy dose of stubbornness and immaturity from both of them eventually caused the demise of their relationship. Harry walked out 3 years ago and Louis has not heard from him since.  
  
Louis shook the dark thoughts off. He would not let Harry ruin this beautiful day, he had ruined enough of Louis’ life. He turned the music up in the car and started singing and doing stupid little hand dances to lighten his mood. The traffic light Louis was approaching turned red, and he pulled to a stop. Another car stopped next to him and Louis looked over. He saw a lady smirking at him and that was when Louis realised that her windows were also down and she could probably hear his out of tune singing and see his daggy dancing. Louis stopped singing abruptly and he felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. He turned back to look out of the windscreen and silently begged for the light to turn green so he could get away from the other car. Finally, the light turned green and Louis pushed down the accelerator and the car lurched forward into the intersection. Louis heard a screech of tyres somewhere to his right and he turned to see where the sound was coming from. What Louis saw made his blood run cold. A car had run the red and was coming straight for him. He instinctively gripped the steering wheel harder, and braced his body for the impact. He heard the sickening sound of metal on metal right before his car started spinning around. In a panic, he tried to correct the spin by turning his steering wheel while slamming on the brakes, but he over corrected causing the car to lurch and flip onto its side. Louis felt a searing pain in his head before everything went black.  
  
\--------  
  
Harry was sitting at home out in the backyard enjoying the unusually warm spring weather. He had his phone resting on his belly playing some quiet music while he was spread out flat on the grass, his eyes closed enjoying the feeling of the sun on his face. His phone started ringing, instantly shutting of the music. Harry groaned, he really couldn’t be bothered talking to anyone at the moment so he ignored it, but the phone kept insistently buzzing. He grabbed the phone off his belly and sat up, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the strong sunlight. It was an unfamiliar number. Harry’s hand hovered over the decline button thinking it was probably just someone trying to sell him something like solar panels, but a little voice inside his head told him he needed to answer this call, so he slid the answer button.  
“Hello?”  
  
“Hello” said the lady on the phone “Is this Mr Styles?”  
  
Mr Styles, who the hell calls me Mr Styles Harry scoffed.  
  
“Yes, it is” said Harry  
  
“Hello Mr Styles, this is Emily from London University Hospital. I’m ringing to let you know that Louis Tomlinson was in a car accident this afternoon and was brought in to our hospital.”  
  
Harry’s ears started roaring and he felt a wave of nausea pass through him. Louis was in an accident? He felt like his chest was being squeezed by a vice and he could not expand his ribs to fill his lungs with much needed air. His heart rate skyrocketed to dangerously high levels and he nearly dropped the phone when his hands suddenly started shaking and sweating. He tried to speak but his voice would not work. He cleared his throat in a desperate attempt to get the words out.  
  
“Is…is he…d…dead?” Harry managed to choke out  
  
“No Mr Styles, he is unconscious at the moment and in a serious but stable condition”  
  
“I’ll be right there” Harry squeaked out.  
  
Harry hung up the phone, ran inside to get his keys and some shoes before shakily stumbling out to his car.  
  
\------------  
  
When Harry arrived at the hospital, he was still shaking violently but his heart rate had calmed slightly. Louis was alive, that was the only thing that was keeping him together.  
He hiked up the four flights of stairs to get to Louis’ floor unwilling to wait for the lift and approached the nurses’ station.  
  
“I’m here to see Louis Tomlinson” said Harry. It was the fastest Harry had ever spoken.  
  
The lady looked up and said “He’s right across the hall, room number 16. Are you a relative?” she asked. “We are only letting relatives in at the moment” she added when Harry looked at her blankly. No, he couldn’t have that. He had to see that Louis was OK.  
  
“I’m--I’m his--fiancé” Harry stuttered  
  
The nurse nodded sympathetically and said. “OK, just so you know before you go in, he is unconscious and he is connected to a lot of tubes. It can be quite distressing for family members to see. He had quite a nasty accident, he flipped the car and had to be cut out of the wreck by the emergency crew. He was lucky though, just a few broken ribs and a lot of bruising, but he did hit his head which has caused some swelling in his brain. The swelling has caused the coma. Once the swelling goes down, he should wake up and be OK, there doesn’t seem to be any permanent damage from the accident. As I said, he was lucky. If the other car had of hit a few inches closer to the driver door, he may not have made it.”  
  
The nurse eyed Harry carefully. He had gone very pale and a was gripping onto the nurse’s desk with white knuckles.  
  
“Do you want me to go in with you?” she asked.  
  
Harry’s ears are hearing nothing but white noise. Louis nearly died? Harry could feel the panic attack coming before it even started. Suddenly he couldn’t breathe, and there were white spots forming behind his eyes. He couldn’t hear the nurse talking to him, but could see her lips moving as if in slow motion. The small amount of air that was trickling into his lungs was not enough, causing his lungs to scream and burn, yet Harry couldn’t do anything to help himself. The nurse came around from the other side of the desk, gripped Harrys shoulders and dug her fingers in, strong enough to cause a bit of pain, making Harry raise his head to look her in the eyes. He could vaguely hear her telling him its ok, just focus on her and breathe in and out, in and out, in and out which Harry tried to do. Slowly, slowly the air started getting into his lungs and it felt like drinking cool water after a hot day. In and out, in and out, he can do that. The spots in his eyes started to fade and his breathing gradually came back to normal.  
  
“Sorry” Harry mumbled  
  
“It’s OK. It’s a lot to take in. Maybe you should take a little break, go grab a coffee or something?”  
  
“No” said Harry shaking his head violently. “No, I need to see him, I’ll be OK”  
  
The nurse didn’t look convinced but nodded anyway “OK. I’ll come in with you”  
  
“No” said Harry again. He wanted to do this alone “I can do it”  
  
“OK, I’ll be right here if you need something…”  
  
“Harry” he said “my name is Harry”  
  
“OK Harry, come and get me if you need anything. I’m Rebecca”  
  
Harry mumbled his thanks again and wandered over to the room the nurse had pointed to earlier. Harry stood outside the door for a beat or two, hand on the door knob, breathing deeply trying to gather up the courage to walk in.  
  
“Just do it Harry” he said to himself  
  
Harry finally pushed the door handle down and stepped inside the room. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could make out Louis lying on the bed motionless. There were indeed a lot of tubes connected to all sorts of equipment and a constant beeping noise that Harry realised was the beep of a machine monitoring Louis’ heartbeat. He felt his eyes stinging as he stepped closer to the bed and looked down at his ex-fiancé. Harry gasped and brought his hand up to cover his mouth. Louis looked broken and battered. He had a massive bruise covering the right side of his face and a bandage around his head which had a little spot of blood on it. The blankets were pulled up to under his armpits but Harry could see the bruise from the seat belt across his right shoulder extending down his chest, and his face was pale, so pale.  
  
Harry was not prepared for the sheer force and range of emotions that took over his body. Anguish, grief, heartbreak, sorrow, and guilt all crashed over him at once causing him to buckle at the knees and drop down to the side of the bed. Harry instinctively reached out to hold Louis’ hand before he remembered that this was not his place anymore and he hesitated, his hand hovering a few inches from Louis. But Harry knew that Louis was not going to know and he needed to feel that Louis was warm, ensure that he was ok, so he closed the gap and grabbed onto Louis hand. Harry felt his heart skip a beat at the touch, and that all too familiar swoop of his belly. Even unconscious, Louis had the power to affect Harry in a way that no one else ever had. Harry felt an overwhelming desire to wrap Louis up in his arms, hold him tightly and kiss the pain away but he knew he couldn’t do that, so he settled for a little peck on his hand instead. Harry saw a big wet drop land on Louis’ hand and was confused for a moment, until he realised that it had come from him. Harry was crying.  
  
“Louis” he whispered brokenly. “I’ve missed you”

\-------

Louis could hear a strange beeping noise that was kind of annoying. He couldn’t work out what it was, so he tried opening his eyes. They felt like they were made of lead and he couldn’t get them open no matter how hard he tried. Why couldn’t he open his eyes? The beeping noise slightly increased in speed and Louis felt someone squeeze his hand.  
“Louis?” came a voice. That voice sounded familiar but he couldn’t place it. It seemed that his brain wasn’t working either.  
Louis tried to answer but he couldn’t. It was then that the blinding pain started in his head. He tried to cry out and put his hand to his head but he found his voice and his arms, like his eyelids and brain were not working. Panic started to set in and his breath started coming is gasps and he vaguely registered the beeping getting faster and faster.  
“Louis” said the panicked voice. He felt the person let go of his hand for a moment and Louis immediately missed the contact. He tried to open his eyes again but couldn’t. He felt the person grab his hand again and squeeze tightly, murmuring something Louis couldn’t comprehend before he heard more voices in the room. He felt someone pushing at something in his arm before everything went black again.  
  
\----------  
  
The next time Louis heard the annoying beeping he tried to open his eyes and he found they were a little more responsive. He felt them flicker before falling closed again. He still felt the same warm hand in his that felt so comforting and he tried squeezing it. Louis heard a gasp before another warm hand started smoothing his hair away from his face. “Louis?” came the voice. Harry. The voice was Harry. Louis wanted to answer back so he tried to say something. He moved his mouth but nothing came out. Louis tried opening his eyes, but the effort was just too great. God he was tired. He tried once again to say something and a very tiny “Haz” croaked out of his throat before Louis succumbed to the overwhelming tiredness that was consuming his body and drifted back to sleep  
  
\-----  
  
The third time he was aware of his surroundings he heard the familiar voices of his mum and Harry. He stayed still with his eyes closed, wanting to hear what they had to say.  
“I’m not sure he will want to see you when he wakes up Harry” Jay said rather coldly  
  
“I know Jay” said Harry sadly. “I just can’t leave till I know he is going to be ok”  
  
Why wouldn’t I be OK thought Louis?  
  
“Harry, you are not part of his life anymore. You need to leave”  
  
“No” said Harry. “I’ve told you before, I’m not leaving until I know he’s OK”  
  
Jay sighed. “OK Harry, I wont force you, but if you dare hurt my boy again….”  
  
“I won’t” Harry interrupted  
  
“I hope not” said Jay “I don’t think he’s strong enough to go through that again”  
  
There was silence for a few moments until Louis heard the door close and then Louis felt the warm hand grip his again.  
Louis squeezed it and he heard Harry say “I don’t want to hurt you again Louis” before Louis dropped off to sleep.  
  
\--------  
  
Louis opened his eyes and saw an ugly ceiling with some too bright fluorescent lights breaking up the endless white. That wasn’t his ceiling. He turned his head to the right to look at the walls and saw Harry slumped in a chair by the window. Louis blinked a few times thinking he was seeing things, but Harry didn’t go away. He was sleeping, tiny snores sneaking out and Louis could not help the fond smile that overtook his face. Harry’s hair had got a little longer since he had last seen him, now curling at his ears, and it looked like he had filled out through the shoulders, although it was hard to tell with the position he was in. He looked pretty uncomfortable, but still just as beautiful as the last time Louis saw him over 3 years ago. Louis tried to move his hands and found that he was connected to something and there were tubes everywhere, and that annoying beeping was still going. Then he realised where he was. Louis was in hospital. The reason why came flooding back, the screeching tyres, the crushing metal. Louis made a small strangled sound and Harry’s eyes immediately flew open locking with Louis.  
  
“Louis” he breathed  
  
Louis felt his insides clench and his eyes prickle with unshed tears. Seeing Harry's green eyes looking at him woke the little butterflies that had been lying dormant in Louis’ stomach for three years. They used to be a familiar and comforting presence always coming to life when Harry was in the same room, but now they just felt foreign.  
  
“Harry?” Louis’ voice was raspy from lack of use, and he tried to clear it but everything was dry.  
  
Louis dragged his eyes away from Harry’s intense green ones and instead chose to concentrate on the ugly white ceiling. His throat was dry and scratchy and he felt like he was swallowing around razor blades. Water would be good right about now.  
  
“Drink?” Louis croaked out  
  
Harry was immediately by his side with some water and a straw. He guided the straw to Louis’ lips and Louis took a sip. The cool water felt like heaven, easing his sore throat and stopping his mouth from being as dry as the Sahara.  
  
Harry put the drink on the table by the bed and hovered nervously by the bed wringing his hands.  
  
Louis cleared his throat and tried to speak. Turning back to Harry he croaked out  
  
“Harry, what are you doing here?”  
  
Harry looked back at him with startled eyes. That was a good question, what was he doing here? The mechanics of it was all pretty simple. The hospital had called Harry because he was listed as next of kin on the computer records at the hospital, entered when Louis had been admitted for appendicitis not long after they got engaged, but the emotional side of it was not so simple. He could have given the hospital any other number, Louis’ mum, Liam anyone, but Harry didn’t even think about that. All he could think about was getting to Louis as quickly as possible to make sure he was OK.  
  
“The hospital rang me, they found my number in one of your old records. It was the only phone number they could get as your phone was smashed in the accident”  
  
“Oh” said Louis who was suddenly very interested in the ceiling again.  
  
“Yeah” said Harry sadly. He looked down at his hands which he suddenly didn’t know what to do with.  
  
The silence between them stretched uncomfortably, causing Harry to start shuffling his feet. He shouldn’t be here he thought. Louis doesn’t want me here just like his mum had said. Harry awkwardly cleared his throat and started to speak.  
  
“Sorry Louis, I…I shouldn’t have come. I just…I had…um..to see…that you were ok” Harry mumbled  
  
He turned around and started to gather up his wallet and phone that he had left sitting by the chair.  
  
“I’ll leave you alone. It was…um..it was good to see you Louis.” he said quietly, avoiding Louis’ eyes.  
  
Louis remained silent and unmoving.  
  
Harry’s gaze slid over to where Louis was lying. Even broken and battered he still looked beautiful. Harry sighed and turned to leave. He could feel his chest tighten with emotion and was starting to struggle to keep himself together. He just has to get out of this hospital and back to his car because he refused to break down in front of Louis.  
Harry put his hand on the door handle and pressed down. He slowly pulled the door open and was just about to step into the bright hallway when he heard Louis’ voice  
  
“Harry?”  
  
Harry stopped dead. His breath hitched and he had to blink away the tears that were forming in the corners of his eyes.  
  
“Yes” Harry rasped, not turning around, head down, hand still on the door.  
  
“Stay” said Louis so quietly Harry almost didn’t hear it.  
  
Harry felt that flutter in his belly and his heart stopped for a beat before thudding violently back to life.  
Harry didn’t move in what felt like forever. He just stood there frozen to the spot. A flicker of hope bloomed in his chest. Louis wanted him to stay?  
Harry finally let his death grip of the door handle go, and slowly turned, eyes downcast.  
  
“OK” he mumbled.  
He braved a look at Louis who was refusing to look his way, intent again on studying the ceiling and saying nothing. 

\----------------

Louis woke to someone fiddling with the tubes in his arm  
  
“Oh, sorry Mr Tomlinson, I didn’t want to wake you. I’m Rebecca, one of your nurses.”  
  
Louis smiled. Rebecca looked friendly and kind. He gave her a small smile and said “Call me Louis, please?”  
  
“OK Louis” she smiled “It’s good news today. You are making an amazingly fast recovery so we are going to disconnect you from all these machines. You’ll be able to sit up and maybe move around the room a little bit when you are feeling up to it. That should make your handsome fiancé smile a little bit!”  
  
Louis stared at her. “Fiancé?” he choked out  
  
“Yeah, Harry. He’s been so worried, especially when you were in that coma. He was here 24 hours a day while you were asleep. None of us could get him to go home. Slept in that uncomfortable chair over there for 3 days straight, and when he wasn’t asleep, he was by your side holding your hand. Such a nice boy. He’s obviously very in love with you. We finally convinced him to leave early this morning so he could go home, get changed. He wanted to be back before you woke, but we messed that up for him, didn’t we?” she joked  
  
Louis felt like the world had suddenly tilted on its axis. Harry was holding his hand? Harry wouldn’t go home? Harry looked like he was love with him? Rebecca must have it wrong. Harry wouldn’t do that, not anymore.  
  
Rebecca looked down at Louis “Are you OK Louis, you look a bit pale?”  
  
“No! I mean yes! I’m fine” Louis was quick to reassure her. He didn’t want a little world tilt to stop her from disconnecting him from these annoying machines.  
  
“Alright Louis. We’ll sit you up and then disconnect these machines then”  
  
\------------  
  
Harry walked back into the hospital feeling a little more human. A hot shower and a change of clothes were exactly what he needed. Who would have thought the nurses knew what they were talking about he mused. He carried two takeaway coffee cups in his hand. One filled with tea for Louis and one with a strong coffee for himself.  
He hurried into the hospital, keen to get back to Louis’ room before he woke up. He gave a small smile and an awkward wave to the nurses at the desk before he walked into Louis’ room. Harry stopped dead in the doorway his jaw dropping to the floor. Not only was Louis awake (which Harry wanted to be there for) he was also sitting up, disconnected from the machines and looking straight at Harry.  
  
‘You’re sitting up” Harry finally managed to get out  
  
“Thankyou Captain Obvious” Louis deadpanned.  
  
Harry was a bit taken aback, and his eyes widened before he saw the cheeky glint in Louis’ eye.  
  
Harry gave him a little smirk “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting that. I wanted to be back before you woke up and now--well, you’re awake and all disconnected.” Harry shook his head in disbelief. “Are you feeling ok?”  
  
“Yeah, I’m pretty glad to be not connected to all those machines to be honest” said Louis  
  
Harry had not torn his eyes from Louis the entire time and he still stood stupidly just inside the doorway.  
  
“Oh, I brought you a cup of tea.” said Harry holding up the takeaway cup like it was a trophy.  
  
Louis smiled “Thanks”  
  
Harry was still standing like a statue by the door. Louis raised an eyebrow and extended his hand. “Do I get to drink it or are you just going to stand there by the door?”  
  
Harrys cheeks flushed and he finally dropped his eyes to the carpet. God, he must have looked like a right idiot standing there gaping by the door. He took a few steps closer to the bed and reached out to hand Louis the cup. As he did, he saw Louis’ eyes drop down to Harry’s chest and contort into something that looked like pain.  
  
“Louis, are you OK” Harry asked concerned. “Should I call the nurse?”  
  
Louis gulped painfully and tried to take a deep breath, which was proving very bloody difficult if he was honest. As Harry had reached over to give Louis the cup, Harry’s t-shirt had gaped a little at the front and his necklace had fallen out from where it was usually tucked safely under his clothes. Louis eyes were glued to the end of that necklace where the ring that Louis had given Harry was currently hanging. Louis was glad that he was not still connected to the machines, because he was sure that every alarm on that heart monitor would have started screaming.  
Harry glanced down to where Louis was staring and gasped. He still had two cups in his hand and couldn’t do anything about hiding the ring. He quickly put the drinks on the table by Louis bed and tucked the ring back under his shirt.  
  
Shit, shit, shit, shit.

  


The tension in the room was suddenly so high it felt like the air was thick with it. The only noise was the faint sound of Harry trying to control his out of control breathing and neither boy could look at the other.  
Suddenly the door burst open and there was a flurry of noise. Harry was grateful for the distraction.  
  
“Louis, they finally let me in to see you…what are you doing here?”  
  
Liam’s brown eyes had landed on Harry’s and they were anything but kind. No longer quite so happy about the distraction, Harry just stared at Liam. Tiny slivers of dread slid down his spine, chilling his blood. This was not going to be good. When Harry had left Louis, he also cut ties with all of their mutual friends. He had not seen Liam in three years.  
Harry stared at Liam dumbly, all hopes of being able to form words lost. It was all too much.  
  
“I asked” Liam said again coldly “What are you doing here. You are not welcome here”  
  
“Li” said Louis quietly.  
  
Harry’ eyes snapped to Louis before sliding back to Liam’s cold ones.  
  
“Louis” snarled Liam while staring icily at Harry “He doesn’t have the right to be here. He shouldn’t be here”  
  
Harry should have thought that eventually he might see Liam here. Of course Liam and Louis would still be friends. Liam had always been fiercely protective of Louis and that obviously hadn’t changed. It actually made Harry glad that Louis had had someone in his corner, someone who would support him no matter what. Harry used to be that person for Louis.  
  
“Liam” said Louis. “Its OK. I asked him to be here”  
  
“You what” screeched Liam incredulous “After all the shit he put you through, you ASKED him to be here?”  
  
Louis and Liam had locked eyes and were now silent. The tension even thicker than it was before if that was at all possible.  
  
Harry coughed nervously “I’ve uh, gotta go anyway” he looked over to Louis “I’ll uh….I’ll see you later?” he questioned.  
Louis nodded but didn’t say anything else. Harry tried to make himself as small as possible as he squeezed past Liam who was still looming near the door.  
  
“Some things haven’t changed – you’re still leaving when things get tough” snarled Liam  
  
Harry’s footsteps faltered and he felt his throat constrict and his eyes start filling with tears. Liam’s comment had hit a little too close to home. He looked up into Liam’s cold eyes and managed to rasp out “I’m coming back” before he slunk quietly out the door.  
  
\-----------------  
  
When Harry arrived at the hospital the next day, he was praying that Liam wasn’t there. He peeked his head through the door and then silently swore. God obviously was punishing him because there in the seat that Harry normally occupied was Liam smiling at Louis. Two pairs of eyes looked over when they heard the door one of them instantly turning cold. Harry chose to look into the warmer ones.  
  
“Hi” said Harry sheepishly  
  
“Hi” said Louis. “Come in”  
  
Harry took a deep breath and walked through the door. He held out a paper bag “I brought you some muffins”  
  
Louis face broke into a grin “Thanks” he said holding out his hand for the bag. Harry walked over and handed Louis the bag, not missing the way Louis eyes dropped to his chest to where his necklace was hanging, this time safely tucked inside his shirt.  
Harry gave Louis a tiny smile before bringing his eyes to Liam.  
  
“Liam” Harry nodded  
  
Liam just grunted, the smile he wore while talking to Louis nowhere to be found, replaced instead with a stony expression.  
  
Harry looked back to Louis. “How are things going today?”  
  
“Good” said Louis. “I managed to get up and go to the toilet on my own. I’ll never take that for granted ever again” he said smiling.  
  
Harry grinned. A proper grin for the first time since Louis had been in hospital and it caused his dimple to pop. Louis smiled fondly back, clenching his hand against the blankets to stop himself from reaching out for Harry.  
There was a gentle knock on the door before Rebecca, the nurse Harry had seen on the first day walked into the room. She looked around at all the people and smiled before looking at Louis.  
  
“Morning Louis. I have some good news for you. The doctors have said that you have made an amazing recovery and can go home tomorrow. But only if you have someone stay with you for a few days. I didn’t think that would be a problem as you’ve got your lovely fiancé here to look after you”  
  
Harry felt Liam’s eyes burning into the side of his face, and he tried in vain to stop the heat rising up his neck and flooding his face. “I…er…”  
  
“Thanks Rebecca” Louis interrupted. “That’s great news. I can’t wait to get out of here”  
  
“Great! I need to organise a few things for your discharge tomorrow then and I’ll be back for you to sign the paperwork. We’re going to miss you around here Louis!” and with that she breezed out of the room, completely oblivious to the tension that her words caused.  
  
Liam was the first one to speak. “Fiancé?”  
  
Harry and Louis both looked at the floor, suddenly very interested in the ugly carpet, neither of them saying a word. Liam looked accusingly between the two, letting the silence stretch on endlessly and uncomfortably. When no one said anything, Liam finally sighed.  
  
“We’ll talk about this later Louis, but right now we need to work out some details for your discharge tomorrow. I’ll cancel that meeting we’ve got and stay with you for a few days”  
  
Louis looked up. “No Li, I need you to go to that meeting. It’s a great opportunity and we need to take it.”  
  
“You need looking after Louis, we’ll just delay it, I’m sure they would understand”  
  
“Li, you need to go to that meeting. It’s important to me and it could mean our lucky break”  
  
Harry was listening in on this conversation but had no idea what they were talking about. What lucky break?  
  
“But Louis” Liam continued. “I’ll be away for three days. I can’t do that while you need help”  
  
“I’ll help” Harry piped up.  
  
Two sets of eyes landed on Harrys. “I can help” he said again a little less confidently. “I don’t have anywhere I need to be for the next few days. I’ll look after Louis, and that way you can attend that meeting.”  
  
Louis and Liam stared at Harry like he was speaking an alien language.  
  
Louis suddenly shook his head “I can find someone else to look after me Harry, you don’t need to do that. What about Niall?” Louis asked looking at Liam  
  
Liam shook his head. “Niall is in Australia visiting family at the moment Louis, remember? He won’t make it back in time” Louis dropped his head and sighed.  
  
“I’ll ring my mum then, I’m sure she can get some time off work…” Louis trailed off  
  
“Louis, I can do it” Harry interrupted “Your mum has had enough time off work since you’ve been in hospital. Let me do it. I want to do it”  
  
Louis dropped his gaze to the blanket covering his legs. Panic started to rise in his throat. Louis couldn’t have Harry living at his house, it would be too painful to know that he was back but only for a few days, and he couldn’t go through Harry leaving again. He needed to keep his distance, keep those old wounds well and truly scarred over.  
“Please?” begged Harry “You’ll barely even know I’m there”  
  
Louis looked back up at Harry and what he saw made his insides clench. The look Harry was giving him was the same look that he used to give him in the early years, slightly too intense to be comfortable and kind of serial killer-ish, but Louis knew what it meant. Harry was looking at Louis with love. Louis thought back to the ring hanging around Harry's neck and found himself saying “OK” against his better judgement.  
  
Harry’s grin nearly split his face in two. His dimples popped out and his eyes shone brighter than the sun.  
  
“That’s settled then!” Harry exclaimed.  
  
Harry glanced at Liam and his grin instantly faded. Liam was angry. Really really angry. Harry wasn’t sure if it was aimed at him or at Louis though as his eyes kept flicking between the two of them. Harry decided that the best thing to do would be to let the two of them sort it out without him there.  
  
“I’ll leave you to it then” Harry said as he started making his way to the door. “I’ll see you later Louis”  
  
\----------------  
  
Harry was lying on his bed trying to get to sleep but it wasn’t working. Louis kept invading his thoughts. He was unsure if going to live with Louis for a few days was the right thing to do, but the pull that he felt when he was with Louis was undeniable and Harry knew he couldn’t walk away again without exploring those feelings.  
Exploring those feelings however meant opening that part of his mind that he had so stubbornly tried to close off and move on from. He realised that his hand was tightly gripping the ring hanging around his neck. When he left, Harry had angrily yanked the ring off his finger and thrown it unceremoniously in the bin at his mum’s place, only to pull it back out again ten minutes later with tears streaming down his face. He couldn’t throw it out, he wasn’t ready for the relationship to end, so instead he had carefully attached it to the chain around his neck where it had remained ever since.  
  
Harry knew that they never ended things right, there was never closure, never a definite “I hate you and I’m never coming back” moment. If Harry had truly wanted the relationship to end, he would have thrown that ring at Louis’ face before he walked out, but all Harry really wanted was a break. A break from the fights, a break from the heartache, and a break from watching the light slowly die in Louis’ eyes with every harsh word that he threw at him.  
  
He had initially intended that break to be short, just a few days to sort out his head, work out how to take the first step in repairing what he had broken, but he never managed to work that out. Days stretched into weeks, which turned into months which turned into years. In that time, Harry had found it easier to convince himself that Louis didn’t want him back, despite the hundreds of unanswered phone calls and messaged that Louis left. He was convinced Louis was better off without him.  
  
Harry sighed and allowed the wall that was blocking his emotions to come down.  
  
Harry had never forgotten the horrible fights and the bitter words that they spat at each other, holding on to those in an attempt to move on, but this time he also allowed himself to remember the good times. Their first kiss behind one of the classrooms at school, the first time they made love, the laughs and the fun. He remembered the way Louis’ hand felt at his waist, comforting and sure, the way Louis had a smile that was only for him, the sass he gave, the way Louis made him feel strong, and how Louis made everywhere feel like home. The tears started slowly at first, just leaking gently out of his eyes, but they soon broke into an almighty flood. Harry was ugly crying but he could not stop. He cried for the way he treated Louis in those final months they were together, he cried for the time they have wasted apart, and he cried for the beautiful relationship that they used to have but most of all he cried because he realised one thing – he was still very much in love with Louis Tomlinson.  
  
\-------  
  
Harry was excited but also nervous as hell to pick Louis up the next day. He woke at six a.m. after a few fitful hours of sleep. He dragged his tired body out of bed and stumbled into the hot shower. He dressed in jeans and an old comfortable t-shirt before he packed his bags for his few nights away. Knowing he was going to be staying in Louis’ flat was making his heart do strange things. He was excited to be able to spend time with Louis, but he was also scared that things would quickly fall back into the hell that their relationship was at the end. What if they couldn’t get past what had happened? What if Louis really didn’t love him anymore? Could Harry finally walk away and accept that he had lost the love of his life? Shaking off those thoughts, he wandered down to the kitchen to get some toast and tea before he headed to the hospital.  
  
When he arrived, he found Louis dressed and sitting on the bed. His bag that his mum had brought over with a few of his personal belongings was sitting on the floor in front of him.  
  
“Hey” Harry said when he walked in the room  
  
Louis looked up and smiled “Hey”  
  
“Looks like you’re ready to go” Harry nodded at the bag.  
  
“Yeah” said Louis giving him a weak smile.  
  
The atmosphere in the room was a little tense and Harry started to feel a bit uncomfortable. Maybe Louis doesn’t really want him here. Maybe he changed his mind.  
  
“Louis, we can ring your mum instead if you prefer…”  
  
Louis looked up at Harry then. “No Harry, let’s get out of here”  
  
Louis bent down to pick up his bag, but Harry quickly nudged him out of the way. “You are not carrying your own bags out of the hospital Lou, let me do it”  
  
Louis sighed but nodded. Harry noticed the quick flash of pain that crossed Louis’ face as he stood up and quickly reached out to steady him by the elbow, concerned eyes searching his face.  
  
“I’m OK” Louis said removing his arm from Harry. Harry let his hand fall back to his side. He sighed and picked up Louis’ bag. “Let’s get you out of here then”

\--------  
  
Louis had moved out of the flat they shared after Harry left. He couldn’t afford the rent on his own and he couldn’t be there anyway with all the memories the place held. He now lived in a small two bedroom flat in North London which turned out to be not too far from Harry's place. Harry idly wondered how they had not run into each other before now. Louis lived on the second floor and the climb up the stairs had proved to be a challenge for Louis. By the time he got to the top, his chest was heaving with the exertion and he felt a little dizzy. He placed his hand on the wall outside of his flat trying to catch his breath while Harry opened the door. Harry looked back and saw Louis looking pale and winded, so he wound his arm around his waist to give him support to walk into the flat.  
  
Louis flashed him a grateful smile before apologising “Sorry. Didn’t quite realise how weak I was”  
  
“Don’t apologise Louis, that’s what I’m here for, to help you”  
  
Louis just nodded and allowed Harry to escort him into his flat.  
  
Harry looked around the flat Louis had been living in without him. It was small but cosy. A small living room, a tiny kitchen and three doors off a hallway that extended off the kitchen which Harry assumed were the bathroom and the two bedrooms. Harry dropped their bags by the door and helped Louis over to the couch. Louis could have made it to the couch on his own now that he had his breath back, but he liked the feeling of Harry's hand around his waist.  
  
“Thanks Harry” he said sighing as he snuggled back into the comfortable couch.  
  
“It’s my pleasure” Harry said as he watched Louis get comfortable. The bruising on his face was slowly fading into a sickly shade of yellow, there were dark circles under his eyes and his face was pale, but Harry was still struck with how beautiful he looked.  
  
Harry tore his eyes from Louis’ face “I’ll just put the bags away then” he said quietly.  
  
“Spare room is on the second door down the corridor. Make yourself at home” Louis said  
  
Harry nodded and turned to pick up the bags. He deposited his into the spare room before moving next door to Louis’ room. Harry took a few deep breaths before he opened the door to Louis’ bedroom. He wasn’t sure he was ready to see where Louis slept without him. It’s just a bedroom Harry said to himself, no big deal. Get your shit together Styles.  
Harry opened the door and took in the sight before him. The walls were bare, the bed was messy like Louis has just crawled out of it, and there was a pile of clothes hanging over a chair that was shoved into the corner of the room next to a chest of drawers. He felt tears start to prick at the corner of his eyes and his throat constrict. Harry realised that being in Louis’ bedroom was a big deal and he really wasn’t ready, so he dropped the bag by the bed and left, inhaling deeply when he re-entered the hallway.  
“Fuck” he mumbled.  
  
Harry made his way back to the living room after unpacking his own clothes in the spare bedroom only to find Louis fast asleep on the couch. Harry smiled fondly. He looked so peaceful lying there. Harry sat down on the other end of the couch, careful not to wake Louis and pulled out his phone. There were a few messages from his mum, his sister and his work that he replied to before resting his head back on the couch and closing his eyes for a second.  
  
Harry was woken three hours later by the Friends theme song quietly playing on the tv.  
  
“Hey sleepyhead” Louis said, remote control in his hand. Harry scrubbed his hands over his face  
  
“What time is it” Harry said, voice all raspy from sleep. Louis tried to ignore the way that voice shot straight to his cock.  
  
“It’s six o’clock. You’ve been asleep for a while”  
  
“You should have woken me” Harry groaned  
  
“You’ve looked tired for days Harry. You needed the rest”  
  
Harry made a non-committal noise before getting off the couch. Every bone in his body seemed to crack when he stood up. Harry winced.  
  
“I’ll make some dinner” Harry said as he stretched, trying to ease some of the soreness from his bones. Louis’ eyes dragged down Harry's body to the little sliver of skin that was exposed as he stretched before he ripped his eyes away looking back at the tv.  
  
“Sounds good” he said, voice strained  
  
Harry wandered into the kitchen and was pleasantly surprised to find the cupboards and fridge quite well stocked. He had to throw a few things out that had gone out of date while Louis was in the hospital but it still left him with quite a few options to cook for dinner. He was glad that Louis must have learned how to look after himself after Harry left, because he was not good at that before. Cooking, supermarket shopping and Louis’ general laziness around the house was one of many things that Harry and Louis argued about.  
Harry quickly threw a pasta dish together, easily finding his way around Louis’ tiny kitchen. He dished it up into two bowls and walked to the living room. He handed Louis the steaming bowl before taking a seat back on the other end of the couch.  
  
“Smells good” Louis sniffed. “It’s good to eat something other than that god awful hospital food”  
  
Harry snorted “It might be just as bad Louis, you haven’t even tasted it yet!”  
  
“I’m sure it’s delicious Harry, your cooking has always been amazing”  
  
Harry found himself blushing, so he looked back at the TV, hoping Louis did not notice. They ate in silence, which to Harry’s relief not too uncomfortable. When they had finished, Harry got up to stack the dishwasher and clean up the mess in the kitchen. He made Louis a cup of tea and brought it back to the living room. Harry stopped in the doorway. Louis was asleep. Harry walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, gently giving him a little shake. Louis stirred.  
  
“Lou, you should go to bed. You’ll be sore if you spend all night on this couch”  
  
Louis blinked a few times. “Yeah, sorry Harry, I’m pretty tired”  
  
“Don’t apologise. Its been a big day. Go get ready for bed and I’ll bring your tea in to you in a minute”  
  
Louis nodded gratefully. He eased his sore body off the couch, Harry watching carefully as Louis swayed a little once he was standing. He waved Harry’s helping hand off and slowly trudged towards the bathroom. “I’m fine Harry”  
  
When Louis had finished up in the bathroom, Harry watched him walk to his bedroom. Harry gave him a few minutes before following with his cup of tea. He knocked gently on the door before opening it a few inches. “OK to come in?” asked Harry  
  
“Yeah” said Louis. Harry wandered into the room trying to regulate his breathing. Seeing Louis in bed was a bit much. He walked over and placed the cup of tea on the bedside table  
  
“Can I get you anything else Louis?”  
  
Louis smiled “No thanks Harry. You’ve done enough already. I’ll see you in the morning yeah?”  
  
Yeah” said Harry “Ill see you in the morning”. Harry turned and left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.  
  
\---  
  
Louis was driving on a lovely spring day. He pulled up at a red light next to another car. They both had their windows down with their music up loud. Louis looked over at the other car and noticed Harry was in the driver’s seat, singing loudly. Louis smirked. Harry was singing out of tune. Harry noticed he was being watched and grinned back, dimple popping, but he didn’t stop his singing. Louis snorted. Trust Harry not to be embarrassed about getting caught singing in the car. The light turned green and it took a few seconds before Louis realised. When he looked back at Harry’s car it had already gone. Louis heard the squealing tyres and turned to look in the intersection, just as the car slammed into the driver’s side door of Harry's car. Louis screamed.

  


\---  
  
Harry was woken by a blood curdling scream coming from Louis’ room. He was instantly out of bed, running into Louis’ bedroom. He was met with Louis sitting up in bed, crying and shaking, face paler than he’d ever seen it.  
  
“Lou” Harry said as he raced over to sit next to Louis. He put a hand on Louis’ back and noticed he was cold and clammy. Louis’ breaths were coming in ragged gasps and he still hadn’t acknowledged that Harry was in the room  
  
“Louis” Harry said forcefully. “Lou, it’s OK, I’ve got you” he said soothingly rubbing his hand up and down Louis’ back, and wiping the tears from his cheeks. Louis felt the heat of Harry's hand start to seep into his skin. The soothing words easing his terror.  
  
Louis’ cloudy eyes finally started to clear and he looked at Harry.  
  
“Louis?”  
  
Louis’ breathing had started to settle down, but he was still shaking quite badly  
  
“Just a nightmare” he croaked out “Sorry”  
  
“Was it about the accident?” Harry dared ask  
  
Louis hesitated “Yeah, kind of” he said  
  
“Have you been having these often?”  
  
“First time” Louis found that talking helped calm him down.  
  
Louis then noticed that Harry was wearing nothing but a tight pair of boxers and he was currently crowded up against Louis. His cheeks flushed and he started to fidget. Harry noticed the minute Louis started feeling uncomfortable, and gently eased away.  
  
“Well if your OK now, I’ll just head back to bed” Harry said  
  
“OK, and thank-you Harry—for your help” Louis said, looking at the floor.  
  
Harry nodded before standing up. Louis instantly missed the warmth and the weight on the mattress. He felt the panic starting again, but tried to push it away, but to no avail. Harry had just reached the door when he heard Louis’ scratchy voice say “Stay?”  
  
Harry stopped.  
  
Harry looked over at Louis’ pleading eyes. He was never good at denying anything Louis wanted, so he nodded and walked back over to the bed. Louis scooted over a little to make room for Harry lay back down. Harry swallowed thickly when he reached the bed. He slowly pulled back the covers and got into Louis’ bed, stiffly lying next to Louis on his back. The silence stretched on.  
  
“Why do you still wear it” Louis’ quietly asked  
  
“Wear what?” Harry asked although he knew full well what Louis was asking  
  
Louis swallowed “The ring”  
  
Harry had noticed Louis had turned his head and was now looking at Harry’s chest. Self-consciously, Harry placed a hand over the ring to shield it from Louis’ gaze.  
In the dark and quiet of the room, Harry almost felt brave enough to tell Louis everything. Instead he settled on “I –er—just couldn’t seem to –I dunno –I couldn’t let that final piece of you go”  
  
Louis didn’t say anything for a few thudding heart beats. Harry held his breath when he felt Louis moving in the bed. The next thing he knew, Louis’ cold hand was resting on his chest and Louis had tucked his body up against Harry's side. Harry felt whole for the first time in three years. Louis’ breathing evened out and Harry thought he had fallen asleep, so he jumped a little when he heard Louis whisper very quietly.  
  
“I couldn’t fully let you go either”  
  
Harry’s breath hitched. He placed a kiss on Louis’ forehead and relaxed into Louis hold falling asleep not long after.  
  
\---  
  
Harry and Louis passed the next day watching movies and talking. Some of the awkward tension of the previous day had dissipated allowing them both to relax a little. It felt like old friends catching up. Louis found out that Harry had opened a photography business which was doing quite well and Harry learned that Louis and Liam were writing music, and Liam was currently in a meeting with a famous singer who wanted to buy some of their songs. Harry heard all about what Louis’ siblings were up to while Louis asked a million questions about Gemma. There were even a few laughs throughout the day which made Harry’s heart swell. It had been a long time since they had made each other laugh. Harry cooked dinner again which they ate in front of the TV in companionable silence.  
  
It had gotten dark, but neither boy got up to turn the light on, the flickering of the TV was enough. Some of the winter chill had also come back and Harry had placed a warm blanket over Louis’ legs to help keep him warm. They were watching Thor, neither one admitting the reason why they loved the movie was because they a crush on Chris Hemsworth.  
  
When the credits were rolling and Harry started to get up to take their dirty dishes back to the kitchen Louis asked  
  
“Why did you leave Harry?”  
  
Harry froze, hands inches away from picking up the dirty plates. He heavily sat back down on the couch. So, they were doing this now huh?  
  
After a long stretch of silence Harry spoke quietly.“I just—I had to leave Louis. I- I was hurting you so badly. I couldn’t stand being the one that was causing the light in your eyes to die. You were becoming just a shell of your beautiful self and it was all because of me. You deserved better. I didn’t want it to be over but I couldn’t see a way out. All I could see is me breaking you even more. I loved you too much to keep doing that to you. You were better off without me”  
  
Harry's voice broke on the lasts few words and there were silent tears running down his cheeks. He angrily brushed them away. He didn’t want to be crying now.  
  
“I was better off” Louis replied  
  
Harry stared at Louis dumbfounded  
  
“Well, I wasn’t, but I was” Louis tried to clarify. Harry was still staring at him, hurt etched into every line of his face with the tears flowing freely  
Louis sighed and dropped his eyes to the blanket covering his knees.  
  
“Sorry, fuck, that’s not how it was meant to come out. What I mean is that it took me a long time to pull myself together after you left. I was a mess. I didn’t know how I was going to live without you. You were always there ---until you weren’t” Louis raised his eyes to Harry’s again and held his gaze  
  
“I didn’t know how to exist without you by my side. You were my everything”  
  
Louis took a deep breath  
  
“It was a long hard road, learning how to be without you. I had never had to just rely on me before as you were always there to support me. I had to learn to stand on my own two feet, learn how to be just Louis, not LouisandHarry, which was hard when my whole life had revolved around you. You walking out that day made me realise that as much as we loved each other it was not a healthy relationship. But in those three years, I found myself Harry. I found out who I was, and what I wanted to do. I learned that I was strong enough to do things on my own and that I didn’t need you.”  
  
It felt like Louis just ripped Harry’s beating heart out of his chest, thrown it on the floor and stomped on it. Louis didn’t need him. Louis was better off without him.  
  
“Louis…” Harry choked out  
  
“No, let me finish” Louis said, his bright blue eyes locking with Harry’s again  
  
“What I have realised over these past few days is that although I don’t need you anymore, I want you. I want to have you around again. I want to get to know you again. I want to see if we can work this out”  
  
Harry’s eyes widened as he realised what Louis was saying. Hope bloomed in his chest and caused his heart to flutter uncontrollably.  
  
Harry hesitated for a few seconds before he launched himself at Louis, throwing his arms around his neck. Louis groaned in pain causing Harry to jump off him instantly.  
  
“Oh my God, I’m so, so sorry. Are you OK?”  
  
“Come here” Louis said grinning.  
  
Harry slowly came forward, cautiously this time. Louis reached up and wiped the remaining tears from Harry’s face with his thumb. Harry leaned into the touch, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of Louis’ hands on him again. Louis’ eyes flicked down to Harry’s plush lips, which were freshly licked, leaving them shiny and wet. Harry couldn’t hold back any longer. He cupped Louis’ jaw with his right hand and leaned in to join Louis’ lips with his. Louis gasped at the contact. Louis flicked his tongue along the Harry’s bottom lip requesting access into Harry's mouth. Harry willingly opened and Louis angled his head to allow the kiss to deepen. Harry felt Louis’ hands creep under his t-shirt to find his warm skin at the base of his spine and Harry was quickly overwhelmed with the feeling, unable to suppress the moan that escaped from deep in his throat.  
  
Harry broke away from the kiss so he could attach his lips to Louis’ neck instead. Louis angled his head to lengthen his throat and allow Harry better access. Harry breathed him in while sucking a deep bruise into the area just above Louis’ collarbone.  
  
“Stay” whispered Louis “Don’t run again”  
  
“I won’t”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like this needed a part 2, so here it is. Enjoy!

“Harrryyyyyyyyy” Louis whined. “Why do you have so much kitchen stuff

Harry pushed his sweaty hair back off his face, put the heavy box he was carrying down and grinned. “I like cooking” he shrugged. 

“But there’s so much……stuff” Louis whined again while he opened yet another box of kitchen utensils.

Harry smiled fondly and wandered over to give Louis a sweaty kiss. “I didn’t hear you complaining when you were enjoying all the things that I made with this kitchen equipment Lewis” 

Louis pouted. Harry was right. He had grown to love Harry’s cooking. It turns out he had quite a talent for it, experimenting often and making tasty dish after tasty dish. Louis could hold his own in the kitchen after his three years alone, but his food was nowhere near as good as Harry.

“Well Harold, that’s true I guess, and you do look particularly hot when you are working in the kitchen….” Louis sauntered over toward Harry, pushing him backwards until Harry was firmly pressed against the fridge. 

“I suppose I can put up with all the stuff then.” Louis breathed into Harrys ear before catching his ear lobe in his mouth sucking noisily while firmly pressing his thigh into Harry’s groin.

Harry felt all the blood rush to his cock. Suddenly there was entirely too much space between the two of them, so Harry leaned in and caught Louis’ lips with his own. His large hands drifted down Louis’ back, eventually coming to rest cupping his arse. The kiss turned into something not very g rated in seconds. Louis moaned from somewhere deep in his throat causing a flash of heat to hit Harry’s body.

Harry broke the kiss and leaned in to whisper roughly in Louis’ ear

“I wanna bend you over that kitchen bench and fuck you so hard right now”

Louis nearly passed out. Holy shit his boy was hot as hell. Louis dove back in for a bruising kiss, noticing how aroused both he and Harry were when he reached down to palm at Harry’s cock.

“Bloody hell, do you two ever stop?” yelled Liam who had just walked into the kitchen with yet another box of stuff.

Oh yeah, Liam was here. Harry and Louis had completely forgotten, caught up in their own little world again. Harry and Louis broke the kiss but stayed pressed together. 

“Sorry Li” said Louis cheekily “I can’t help that my boy is so damn sexy”

“Well I don’t need to see it – keep it for the bedroom” Liam complained, but Louis could hear the fondness in his voice.

Harry and Louis reluctantly separated, making some adjustments to their pants, Harry pulling Louis closer for just a second to whisper “later” in Louis’ ear.

“Sorry Liam” Louis said, clearing his throat. Harry is definitely going to be death of him one day. “We love you” he smirked, patting Liam on the shoulder as he walked past. “Thanks for helping us move”

Liam snorted “Yeah, well, I’m doing all the moving and you’re doing all the snogging. Get your arse out there and get some more boxes!” Louis gave Liam the finger as he walked out the door. 

Harry looked over at Liam and gave him a warm smile “Seriously Liam” he said, placing a hand on his shoulder “Thanks for helping us move. It means a lot”

Liam sighed “No worries mate. It’s-uh-nice to see you two managed to...you know...work it all out” he said shyly. “You two are good together” 

Harry’s grin was blinding. He leaned in and gave him a friendly hug. “Thanks Li.” he said softly

“Now, go and get more boxes, you’re being lazy!” Harry teased as he broke the hug

Liam rolled his eyes and groaned, but turned around to do as he was told.

\-----

After a year or so of getting to know each other again Harry and Louis had decided to move in together. They had spent nearly every night together anyway and they had to admit it was a little inconvenient to be living between two flats. They had both grown up a lot over the years and, although their relationship wasn’t all smooth sailing, they managed to work through their problems. It wasn’t easy, as they were both still stubborn as hell and communication was not something that came easy to either of them but they fumbled their way through, always managing to sort things out before they went to sleep.

Liam and Louis had sold their song to the recording artist that Liam met while Louis was in hospital, which promptly went to number one in twenty-three countries, sparking immense interest from other artists. Over the last six months, Liam and Louis had become a hot commodity, selling dozens of songs to various artists. They were a dynamic duo with the Midas touch, every song they sold ending up being a hit. Hugely famous recording artists were now seeking to work with them and were willing to pay big money for one of their songs. Rumours throughout the industry were also starting about how the young writers may be in the running for an Ivor award, a prestigious honour that recognises Britain and Ireland’s song writing talents.

Harry’s photography business was also taking off after one of the artists Liam and Louis had sold a few songs to asked him to be the tour photographer, which Harry readily agreed to. It did mean that Harry spent a bit of time away from home, but Louis never minded, quite content to spend a bit of time on his own. Whenever Harry got home, however they always took a few days off together to reconnect, which usually meant they barely left the bedroom, their passion for each other stronger than ever.  
Liam had finally come to trust that Harry was here to stay and their friendship was well on its way to being as good as what is was before. All in all, life was pretty good for all of them.

 

\-----

Harry and Louis were lying in bed one lazy Sunday morning, the sun drifting in through the curtain that they didn’t quite close properly the night before. Harry was lying flat on his back unable to move after Louis had taken him apart, fucking him hard into the mattress as a morning wakeup call. They were both still breathing heavily, coming down from their highs.  
Louis’ hand come up to fiddle with the ring still attached to Harry’s chain around his neck. Harry shifted slightly to accommodate Louis more comfortably, his arm sliding under Louis’ neck, his hand curling around to draw shapes on his back.

“Harry?” Louis said

“Hmmm?” Harry mumbled. It was too much effort to talk at the moment.

Louis felt the time was right to ask Harry something that had been on his mind for a while now, but actually doing it made him nervous as hell. His body stiffened, his heart started racing and Louis started fidgeting, pulling back from Harry, dropping his gaze.

Harry felt the change in Louis’ demeanour and shifted slightly to look at him.

“Are you OK Lou?” 

“Yeah” Louis sighed, not meeting Harry’s eyes. “I’m good. I just—I—er—I want you to...Shit.” Louis scrubbed his hand through his hair “This is harder than I thought”

Louis’ voice was a little shaky and Harry could see how hard his heart was thudding as his pulse was jumping in his throat. Harry started to worry as it felt like Louis was trying to say something that couldn’t be good.  
  
Harry pulled his arm out from under Louis and propped himself up on one elbow to look at Louis

“Louis, you’re kinda scaring me right now. What is going on?”

Louis paled “Sorry Harry… I just…fuck”

Louis pulled completely away, shaking his head. The small distance between them feeling like a chasm. Harry stopped breathing, his heart falling to the floor, irrational thoughts pummelling his brain. Whatever Louis had to say couldn’t be good. Louis couldn’t even look Harry in the eye. Maybe he had decided that this wasn’t working. Maybe he had decided that this thing with Harry wasn’t what he wanted. Maybe he had decided this was the end and that sex they just had was a goodbye... 

“Just say it Louis.” said Harry, fear making his voice weird and his breathing ragged. 

Louis’ eyes shot up to Harry.

“Sorry, I’m messing this up.”

Harry was confused. “What the hell is going on?” he asked

Harry sat fully up, leaning against the head board, Louis scrambling to do the same. Louis looked over at Harry and saw the frown on his face, causing that little indent to form between his eyebrows. He reached over to smooth a thumb over it, staring into Harry’s green eyes.

“Harry…” Louis started. “I…um…want you to take that ring off” he said, eyes dropping to Harry’s chest

What?

“What?” squeaked Harry. He couldn’t believe this was happening. He thought everything was good between them and now it was all turning to shit. Harry felt the tears start to prick in the corner of his eyes.

Louis saw the panic in Harry’s eyes and realised that what he said didn’t come out right. He slowly reached out to grab the ring in his hand, locking eyes with Harry. 

“No, Harry, that’s not what I meant...” He began slowly. “I want to know Harry” he began no longer nervous “If you would take that ring off, and put it back on your finger instead?”

Harry sat frozen. It took a good few minutes for the words to sink through to his panicked brain. Louis wants him to put the ring back on?

“You want me to put the ring back on my finger?” he rasped out, emotion clouding his voice.

“I want you to put the ring back on Harry” Louis confirmed “I want you to be my husband. Will you marry me?”

Louis saw the moment Harry realised what he had meant. He saw his eyes turn from panic to immense softness and he watched fascinated as the worried frown melted from Harry’s face.

“Fuck Louis. I thought you were trying to break up with me!” Harry gasped, hand coming up to rest over his wildly beating heart

“Never Harry. I want you to stay…always.” Louis said softly

Harry just stared at him, saying nothing  
  


“I’m still waiting on an answer Harold” he said sassily

Harry finally let go of the breath that he was holding. 

"Shit, of course I’ll marry you” he rasped out, his voice thick. 

Harry leaned in and slotted his lips with Louis, pouring every ounce of love that he felt into the kiss.  
Louis reached around Harry’s neck and undid the chain, then broke the kiss. He gently slid the ring from where it had been resting for a bit over four years and closed his palm around it, enjoying how warm it felt from resting on Harry’s chest. He locked eyes with Harry as he brought the ring up to his lips, kissing it before reaching out for Harry’s left hand. He then kissed Harry’s ring finger before slowly sliding the ring onto it. Harry looked down at his hand, tears leaking quietly from his eyes. The ring looked beautiful. Louis wound their fingers together and Harry looked back up at Louis whose eyes were shiny with emotion. 

“We’re engaged?” said Harry incredulously

“We’re engaged” Louis confirmed nodding

Their smiles were blinding, and they just sat there staring at each other for a few minutes until Harry decided they were too far away from each other. He tackled Louis so he was lying back on the bed, eliciting a surprised squawk out of Louis. Harry landed heavily on top of him, pressing their bodies tightly together. 

“I love you Louis.” he said grinning, leaning down to kiss Louis’ neck

“I love you too Harry. Stay with me forever?”

“Forever” Harry confirmed before proceeding to take Louis apart.


End file.
